Fateful
by Farther
Summary: Kuki and Wally meet for the first time as adults... mindless 3X4 fluff.
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I disclaim!

A/N: An older Wally and Kuki meet for the first time after their memories have been wiped. I don't know of this has been done already, but I had to do it… enjoy.

When he saw her across the crowded room, time seemed to stand still. Yes, it was highly cliché. No, he didn't believe in love at first sight (pfft, hated the very idea, in fact). But then… why did he suddenly feel as if he'd been punched in the gut? And why was the feeling strangely pleasant…?

He didn't know who she was, but already Wally wished he had never laid eyes on her. He had just been minding his own business, half-heartedly organizing the light weight barbells on their rack (the worst part about his otherwise ideal job), waiting for his next class to start. Then he looked up, and SHE was there, on the other side of the gym by the tread mills. He hadn't even seen her come in and he had certainly never seen her before.

He would have known that much even if he didn't know all the patrons of Gold's Gym by name.

This one was different from any girl he had ever met, or would ever meet. Wally knew it somehow, just by looking at her, even if he didn't know exactly why. There was something about her… something beautiful and… dangerous.

But he couldn't just NOT talk to her, now that he'd seen her. He groaned inwardly. Dilemma, dilemma.

Already the Gym was filled with people. Some women, but mostly men today… Mostly men. What if someone else got to her first? He might be reluctant, but he would kick himself forever if he just stood by and did nothing. Wally was, if nothing else, a man of action.

Casually, he drifted over to the treadmills, and pretended to examine one of them.

"Um… excuse me?"

Like a moth to the flame. That had been easier than he'd thought.

"Yeah?" he said, but he couldn't look up at her quite yet. He fiddled with the gears on the treadmill.

"Do you work here?" She asked. She had a sweet, oriental voice. It was the voice that would belong to cotton candy if it could speak. He loved cotton candy.

"Sure do." He took a deep breath and looked up.

Pale olive-skin, dark eyes shaped like almonds, long legs. Wally knew somehow that if she took her hair down from the messy knot at the back of her head, there would be a long, long black sheet of it. How did he know that? Didn't matter. Now was for speaking, which he realized hadn't been doing for a full twenty seconds.

"Uh, what do you need?" he asked, shaking himself.

She smiled winningly at him, and his tongue suddenly felt like a sock.

"How do you adjust the settings?" she asked, gesturing with a hand that was hidden by the long sleeve of her green sweater.

Wally leaned over to show her. It was over far too quickly, and he couldn't think of anything further to say. But, thank God, she could.

"Thanks, what's your name?"

For an instant, he really could not remember. Then it came to him.

"Wally," he said, too quickly. He wasn't about to tell her his full name. Not yet, anyway. What chance would he have if she knew he was named after a stinkin' marsupial? "Wally Beatles."

"Wally Wally?" she laughed. No, she giggled. He had never liked girls that giggled. Why didn't he care about that now?

"No!" Crud, he hoped he wasn't blushing. "Just Wally."

"Can I call you Wally Wally anyway?"

"Uh…" Why was it so hard to say not to her? "No, I don't think so."

"Ok, how about Wallabee?" she persisted.

"Wha –? How'd you know?"

She blinked her pretty almond eyes at him.

"Know what?" she asked, cocking her head just so. Then it seemed to dawn on her, and she flashed her white teeth at him. "Is that you're real name? No way!"

Wally folded his arms and made incomprehensible grumbling noises. This was a bad idea. Now she would just bug him about his name for all eternity like an annoying little… Eternity? _Eternity?_ Had he thought that? Nononono….

He shook his head, shaggy blonde hair flying.

"How'd you guess?" he grumbled. Talking was better than thinking if his mind was playing tricks like _that_ on him.

"My favorite animal," she grinned. "A wallaby."

"Really?" He was still interested, in spite of himself. She was energetic and annoying and annoyingly energetic, but there was just something about her…

"Mm-hm." She nodded, bangs flopping over her eyes.

"Cool." Here was the hard part. Wally had always hated asking girls for their names, but clearly it was his turn to do so… But she saved him again. Was she horrible or wonderful? He couldn't tell.

"Oopsie. I forgot to tell you my name."

Oopsie. What sort of grown woman said 'oopsie'? It was a terrible word. He hated that word. But… butbutbut… Oh, God. He liked it on her. He found it _endearing_.

This was terrible… He was so distraught he almost missed her name. He tuned back in just in time.

"I'm Kuki Sanban. Nice to meet you."

"That's a… that's a nice name."

"Yeah. It's Japanese," she said, as if that explained it all. "I have a sister named Mushi."

"I like your name better," he said. No, he didn't. He didn't say things like that, not to anyone! He just didn't! It was a general rule of Wally!

This was exactly the reason he had been reluctant to speak to her at all.

"Thank you."

Tiny spots of pink appeared on Kuki's cheeks. He thought maybe it had been worth it to break his own rule… But never again, he vowed.

"What do you do?" he asked. Usually, he only asked to be polite. Now, he found himself genuinely interested to know.

She pulled back the long green sleeves and held out a pair of delicate hands. Upon closer inspection, Wally could make out a few discolorations here and there, particularly on her palms. Paint and ink stains.

"I'm a cartoonist," she said. "What do you do here?"

"Oh, I teach classes, help out, ya know." He scratched the back of his head. And then… "Crud!"

He looked at his watch. 12:40, on the nose.

"I'm late," he said. Normally, he would have been gone already. He loved his job. But… he didn't want to just…

There was a turning point here. If he bolted for it right now, he would never break another general rule of Wally again. He would never need to see HER again.

"Um… do you… do you want to…" He fumbled the words.

"Do something, sometime?" she finished for him.

"Uh, yeah," he said, oddly relieved.

"I'd like that," she said quietly. She pulled the white ribbon out of her hair. It _was_ a long, long black sheet. He wanted to touch it. "Do you have a pen?"

Actually, he did. He pulled one out of the pocket of his Gold's Gym warm-up jacket.

"Thanks."

Using the side handle of the treadmill for leverage, Kuki scribbled her number on the white ribbon, then held it out to him.

He didn't like ribbons, he didn't hold them, he didn't touch them. But he _really_ wanted this one. Cruddy ribbon. Cruddy girls. He just didn't care anymore. He took the ribbon and stuffed it in his pocket.

"That's very special," she told him. "I don't give my number to just anybody."

"I don't carry around ribbons for just anybody, either," he said truthfully. There was an awkward moment.

"Call me, ok?"

She looked very fragile for a moment there. He smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring manner.

"'Course I will."

"Um... I have one thing to confess..." she murmured shyly.

"What"

"I already knew how to adjust the treadmill settings."

He went off to class, fifteen minutes late, clutching the stupid ribbon inside his pocket, and smiling. Well, that was four general rules broken right there. Who woulda thunk it?

A/N: Written because I needed to write something. Am very sleepy. Have probably made many careless errors, particularly in the characterization department, but they are older here, so lets just blame it on that. People change, you know. Hehe… Reviews would be nice.


	2. Chapter Two

Note: I made a few small edits to chapter one, but nothing really important. Just thought I'd mention it.

A/N: Woof! What a response! Thanks for all the reviews! The first one was supposed to be a one-shot, but oh well… here we go again… ;)

She could safely say that she had never been as nervous as she was just then. It wasn't like her to dwell on things or to worry very much, but this was different. Special.

Kuki chewed the peeling cuticle on her thumb, staring intensely into the crux of her dilemma. This was not like her. This was not like her at all. She just had to stay calm and breathe deeply. It was only a date, after all.

Only a date.

So why was it so hard to decide which pair of shoes she was going to wear!

Well, her black and white sneakers had never failed her before… but maybe he would find them too childish? Too casual? Jeesh! They were only going out for coffee. How would she act when… if… _when_ he asked her out to dinner?

Nope! No sense in worrying now. She'd leap that hurdle when she came to it.

Sneakers laced, Kuki stood and examined herself one more time in the mirror by the door to her apartment. Green t-shirt, jeans, hair down… or up? She toyed with the idea. No, down was better.

Oi, she was going to be late! She looped her handbag over her shoulder and rushed out the door.

As she approached the café, she could see Wally in the front window. He had a table just inside the glass-paned storefront, and the seat across from him was occupied by his white sneakers. He was somewhat slumped in his own chair, reading a paperback novel.

Huh. She hadn't pegged him for a reader.

She tapped on the glass to catch his attention, and waved when he looked up. He blushed (oh… _that_ was too cute), and hid the novel beneath the jacket in his lap. Absurdly, she wanted to crush him close to her, like one of her old stuffies. Kuki had a strange vision of him in a pink costume, using the sugary catchphrase of Mr. Huggykins.

_'I wuv you!'_

Ok, waaay too early for that just yet (…wasn't it?). But she grinned at the idea, even though it was slightly disquieting to already be relating him to stuffed toys in her mind. She had only ever done that with serious boyfriends in the past (and there hadn't been many of those. Just one, actually.).

Bouncing nervously on the inside, Kuki went into the café.

"Is this seat saved?" she asked Wally brightly. He pulled his sneakers off the chair, then got up to brush it off, though he hadn't left behind any dirt that she could see. She found that terribly charming.

"Thank you," she said, sincerely.

"'S nothin'," he told her.

"Ok, then. What are you reading?" She had to ask.

"Nothing," said Wally, too quickly. "Um, would you like a drink? Coffee?"

He was offering to pay for her already. What sort of sign was that? No, no, no, analyzing was bad. She never analyzed. Now she couldn't seem to help it. She just wanted everything to go right.

"Only if I can pay you back," she said finally. He was shaking his head before she finished her sentence.

"No, I've got it. I'll be right back."

So, he was the traditional type. She liked that. She liked that a lot.

Really, Kuki liked pretty much everything. It was easy to earn a place in her heart. The difficult thing was to become a part of it. And yet, Wally already seemed close to doing just that. That was why it had taken ten minutes to decide what shoes to wear, why she watched him as he went to get their drinks, unwilling to let him pass out of her sight.

Well, not totally unwilling. When she was sure Wally wasn't looking, Kuki reached under his coat for the hidden paperback. She snickered.

"Oi, what are you laughing at, you snoop?"

Wally set a pair of paper cups on the table. He had clearly tried to sound casual, but his face was beet red.

"You read Star Trek novels?" she laughed.

"Well… the book store was fresh out of the Star Wars series… I figured it was the next best thing…"

"Nerd!"

"Am not!" said Wally, defensively. Kuki decided to end his suffering.

"Fine, you're not," she said, still smiling. She watched him poor a packet of sweetener into his cup.

"What?" he asked, looking up at her self-consciously.

"It's cute that you're embarrassed," she told him. He blushed again. Would she ever get tired of that? "I bet you read a lot of comic books as a kid."

"Well, yeah," he admitted. "I bet you were, ah… energetic."

"Nah," Kuki said teasingly.

"I wish I had known you," he blurted, then looked a bit sheepish. "When we were kids, I mean."

She smiled softly at her lap.

"So do I."

This was definitely not first-date conversation. Far from it, really. But Kuki didn't mind. It felt… right.

"I'm not usually this mushy, you know," said Wally, as he took a sip of his drink.

She giggled, pleased. "Then I must have that effect on you."

"Heh… yeah." He looked at her ink-stained hands as she wrapped them around her cup. "Hey, you've been working."

From there the conversation shifted into the generic. She told him about her job, and learned about his. They talked about their families and friends, hobbies and habits, until they reached the dregs of their coffee and were left fiddling with the empty cups.

"Let's walk," said Kuki suddenly. She liked hearing about his life, but she was restless from being seated for so long. Wally seemed to commiserate, because he smiled and got up, stretching a bit.

"Sure," he said, and looked at his watch. "But just for twenty minutes. Don't let me forget."

"I won't," she agreed without hesitation as he held the door open for her. They stepped out into the warm summer air. "Why? What's in twenty minutes?"

"I gotta go pick up a friend from the airport," Wally said, sighing.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Eh, nothing. She's a good friend and all, it's just…"

"She?" Kuki echoed, trying to sound unaffected.

"Uh, yeah, Abbey." Something seemed to occur to him then, for a moment later he added, "we're just friends, you know. I promise."

Kuki still felt an odd twinge of jealousy. She really had to get a grip; she wasn't sure she had ever been jealous before in her life.

"Don't be silly; I wasn't jealous," she lied, smiling at Wally. "How long have you known her?"

"Um…" His eyes rolled upwards as he made the calculations. "Wow. 'Bout seven years now. I didn't realize it had been that long."

"That's a long time," she noted, wishing it had been she who had known him so long. Oh, well.

"Well, I met her back in college. And besides, we don't see each other all that much since her family moved back to France."

"Ooh, France," Kuki murmured. "Have you ever been?"

"Nah," he said.

"Me neither," she admitted, "but I've been to Japan."

"What about Australia?"

She shook her head, black hair flying. "Nope. But I bet you have."

"'S where I was born," Wally told her.

"I can tell," She giggled. "You sound like the Crocodile Hunter."

"Do not!" He eyed her huffily, and then added resignedly, "Besides, you haven't met my dad yet."

"He sounds like Steve Irwin?" Kuki asked, grinning and delighted. She imagined Wally and his family, dressed in khaki shorts and speaking in thick Australian brogue, and laughed.

"Yeah," said Wally, "Looks like him too."

"Really?"

"No," he snorted. "Maybe he'd like to think so, but he works in engineering."

"Aw," she teased, feigning disappointment. "You got me all excited."

"Sorry. Didn't know you were such a croc hunter fan."

"Oh, yes," Kuki said. She forced herself not to smile. "It takes a real man to pull off the safari look, you know."

Wally sighed. "Shoot, I'll never be a real man now."

"That's ok. I'll still like you if you take me to Australia someday."

She was enjoying their friendly banter, but she wondered if he would read too much into that last remark, if he thought she was looking too far into the future or that she was subtly asking for some kind of commitment. She really wasn't. If Wally ever learned anything about her, it would likely be that Kuki Sanban was anything but subtle.

"You're just using me to get to the wallabies," he said in mock offense.

She smiled at him. "No, I wouldn't do that."

He looked a little flustered. "Well, yeah, I believe you… um, why do you like them in particular anyway? Wallabies, I mean?"

"Because they're cute," she answered, without hesitation.

"Oh."

Kuki couldn't resist reaching out and ruffling his hair. It was long, and just lightly curly.

"Hey!" he protested, but made no real attempt to stop her. When she pulled back her hand, he flattened the fly-away hair with his palms. He squinted at her, as if preparing a retort, but then he stopped.

"Wait a minute," he said, and looked at his wristwatch. "You've made me late again."

"Then I guess we'll just have to meet earlier next time," she said, squelching a burst of shyness.

Wally looked surprised, and then pleased. "Yeah, I guess so."

"You'll call me won't you?"

"Soon as I can," he promised. Then there was an awkward moment as they decided how to part ways. Neither of them made a move, but maybe that was good. She didn't want to rush into this and risk ruining it.

"Um, goodbye," said Wally finally.

"Bye," she repeated, both relieved and disappointed. She watched him dash off to his car until he was gone. For a moment Kuki just stood there on the sidewalk, reveling in the squirmy, butterfly feeling in her stomach. She didn't get that way for just anybody.

It was twenty minutes before she was home again and not quite sure what to do with herself. She tossed herself over the arm of the sofa and kicked her feet lazily in the air. And she thought absently about Wally…

The phone rang shrilly, startling Kuki out of her daydream. She leapt off the couch and into the kitchen to grab the receiver.

"Hello?" she said, feeling strangely excited.

"Hi… It's me."

She melted to the floor.

"Hi, Wally," she answered, grinning from ear to ear.

"Um, I just got the air port. Was I soon enough?"

He had said he would call as soon as he could, after all.

A/N: Erm, I thought that since Wally is so into action comics and cartoons, Star Wars novels wouldn't be such a stretch for him…yeah. Huzzah, four pages of WallyXKuki banter! I think there will be a hint of 1X5 next chapter… Let the tooth decay begin.


	3. Chapter Three

A/N: Yay! Thanks for all the reviews!

Abigail Lincoln had collected her bags a good ten minutes ago, and she was _still_ waiting for Wally to pick her up. She crossed and re-crossed her legs on the blue waiting room chair, tapping her foot to the music from her headphones. This was so not cool.

She sighed and dropped her head back, attempting to recline. That proved to be a mistake. She felt a sharp pain, and…

"Ow! What the – ?"

Abbey turned around in her seat and pulled her headphones down around her neck. The young man in the seat that was back to back with hers was frowning at her, and it didn't take more than a moment to figure out why. Her head had collided with his when she leaned back. Abbey silently cursed all airports for arranging their seats this way.

"Watch it, would you?" snapped the young man. He had a crisp British accent and hair buzzed very close to his scalp.

"Don't get your panties in a twist, it was only an accident," she said, irritated that he was so irritated. "I'm sorry, alright."

He appeared slightly mollified. "Yeah, okay."

"You're not going to apologize, are you?" Abbey said flatly. His brows drew together again. She predicted frown lines in his future.

"Why should I?"

"Oh, forget it," she sighed as she turned back around. She was surprised a moment later, when she heard a mumbled, "sorry," from the person in back of her.

"No problem," she told him, fully expecting that to be the end of that. She tapped her foot absently for a few moments, and then…

"I've seen you here before, haven't I?"

"Huh?" Abbey turned back around.

"I've seen you here before," he repeated. She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, probably," she said, pausing to scrutinize him. "I think I've seen you too."

In fact, she was sure she had, two or three times, from across the room.

"Probably," he said. "I travel a lot. For business."

"Oh. Family obligations, for me," she offered. Jeez. What was with this guy? Why was she even having this conversation? It was weird. But it was better than nothing.

"France, huh?" he asked.

She raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "How'd you know?"

"Oh… heh, I just noticed you're always here when the flight from France comes in." He nodded to the arrivals and departures screen. That was awfully observant of him.

"You're not some kind of stalker, are you?" asked Abbey, folding her arms. She wasn't going to beat around the bush.

"No!" He looked surprised at the very idea. That was probably a good sign. "No, not at all!"

"Alright, then. I believe you."

She found she was telling the truth. There was something there that made her feel like she could trust this stranger. That was pretty stupid, though, because really he had a sort of shady, secret-agent look about him.

"I'm not a stalker," he said again. "Really."

"Don't protest too much," Abbey advised with a little half-smile.

"Er, yeah."

God, why was she still talking to him? She hated talking to strangers, but some sadistic little part of her didn't want to stop.

"So, you arriving or departing?" she asked, feeling more than a tiny bit lame.

"I'm just about to leave, actually." He hefted his baggage to demonstrate.

"Well, have a good flight," she said. "And when dinner comes around, stay away from –"

"The coleslaw?" he finished for her.

"Exactly…"

Huh. No one ever finished her sentences. But to be rational, that one had been pretty general as far as sentences went.

Suddenly, Abbey spotted Wally in a phone booth far across the room. It was a good distance off, but there was no mistaking that head of hair.

"Hey, my ride is here." She turned back to the stranger. "I guess I gotta go."

"Me too," he said, glancing at the plane schedule and back to her with his dark, serious eyes. "Goodbye… um…?"

"Abbey," she supplied.

"Nigel," he said, as he held out his hand. She shook it, finding warm, dry skin and a firm grip. "Maybe we'll meet here again."

"Maybe." She doubted it. "See ya, Nigel."

Nigel slid a pair of shades out of his shirt pocket and put them on.

"See ya," he said, as he walked away to the boarding gate.

Abbey bent to gather her luggage, and when she turned to find Wally, she saw that her friend was waiting for her a few yards off. She walked up to him and they fell into step together without a word.

They had a very easy friendship, and somehow it didn't need to be cluttered with sentiment.

"Who's the bloke?" he asked immediately, as he shouldered one of her bags for her.

"Nobody."

"Yeah, right."

"Who were you calling on the phone?" she countered coolly. "And why were you so late?"

"Erm," said Wally. His cheeks became slightly pink.

Abbey raised an eyebrow and studied him, curiosity peaked. Wally was only fluster-able over things he cared about. Or perhaps, _people_ he cared about…? She chuckled, somewhat evilly.

"Looks like Wally has a girlfriend," she smirked.

He spluttered. "How did you kn – I mean, I do not!"

"Please. I could call you a lotta things, but a good liar ain't one of them."

He folded his arms and looked sulky.

"So, how long has this been going on?" asked Abbey as they exited the building and entered the parking lot.

Wally muttered something she couldn't quite make out.

"What was that?"

"We've only been out once, alright!" he growled. "Nosey."

"Oh." Abbey was surprised in spite of herself. Wally was already blushing over this girl? "Must be pretty serious."

"Oi, you can start minding your own beeswax anytime now, you know," he said. They had finally reached his car, an orange little Jetta, and he popped the trunk open to load her bags before climbing into the driver's seat.

Abbey looked out the window as the car back out of the parking lot, mindful of Wally's desire to change the subject (for now, anyway…). They were on the freeway before he spoke up again.

"Don't tell anyone," he said finally, clearing his throat, "but I… I'd like it to be. Serious, I mean."

Well, Abbey had known that already, of course, but the slow, wide smile spread across her face nevertheless.

"So when do I get to meet this girl?" she asked, teasingly.

Wally groaned.

In fact, it was three weeks before Abbey was able to finally meet Wally's new girlfriend, just before he drove her to the airport again. Wally needn't have worried, she reflected, as she waved goodbye to him. Abbey genuinely liked Kuki.

Although… the two of them had made fun of him a bit. Well, it was all in fun, and certainly not damaging. She would be surprised if anything proved damaging to _that_ relationship. Even in the short time that she had spent with the two of them, Abbey could see that they just… fit together.

Part of her had been relieved to get out of there. Too many shy, loving glances in one day had to have some kind of brain-rotting effect.

After passing through the long, drawn-out tedium of airport security, Abbey moved on into the waiting area. She checked the flight schedule, and blinked in surprise. She was _early!_ Well, this was a rare occasion, then. She sighed, and dropped into one of the seats. For a while, she just sat there, closing her eyes. But then…

"Oh, it's you."

She cracked one eyelid. Then the other.

"So we meet again," she smiled. "Hey, Nigel."

"Uh… hi, Abbey." He sat down next to her, a little awkwardly. "So… back to France?"

"Yeah, same old. You?"

It was the start of a new tradition.

A/N: Sorry, guys. Looks like Abbey took over this chapter. She can be quite persuasive… but I'll get it back on track next time. Which will be the last chapter. Stay tuned!


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